AvoidDrIlkerApaydin

HI Jambopilgrim - I just scanned your earlier post-op photos - the photo with scabs and then the photo after the scabs fell off - and I didn't notice any "patch" in either of those photos. Since there were scabs in "that" area, and those scabs were followed by pre-shedding hairs, I would deduce that hairs had actually been transplanted there. I think you're ok, but in the absolute worst case scenario, the area is far behind the hairline and would easily be covered by surrounding hairs. But again, I don't think you have to even worry about that. IMHO

Hi Jambopilgrim! Your 10 day post-op looks amaaaazing. Evenly spaced, no strange gaps, angles perfect. Rolandas [a HT Youtuber] said that this stage - the pre-shed stage - is basically a window into what your final result will look like assuming you like short hair. So if you like it now, I'm guessing you'll love the final result. And the donor so clean! You could easily get away with a 3 or 4 guard. Very happy for you!

Hi Jambopilgrim, sorry didn't see this until now b/c I didn't get any e-mail notification. But now I'm following this topic so I should. Newbie here! Thanks for the pre-op "before" photos. Definitely helps clarify. Btw, I just saw another "low density" complaint on RealSelf by a guy reporting a 20% survival rate! Seems to be a very common result with Dr. Apaydin. Might consider writing a review there? It's easy to create an account and write a review. Might help others avoid the same plight. I know your "repair" HT is coming up soon so hopefully this will all be behind you in short order! I won't say "good luck" b/c I've learned it's not really about luck but choosing the right doctor/clinic with a proven track record of providing consistent results. HLC has a good reputation so it seems you'll be in good hands.

Hi Jambopilgrim - thanks so much for replying! We're kind of in the same boat, but you're several months ahead of me so I'd really be interested in following your progress. Yeah, other than the density he didn't seem to butcher all the other aspects of your surgery. The hairline itself looks good. Happy for your in that respect. But man...the density. Mine is atrocious at around 33%, but yours reminds me of an American who recently left a RealSelf review in November reporting a survival rate of 15-20%. Look for "Botched Operation - Dr. Ilker Apaydin." He posted lots of photos. Your 6-month post-op photos look eerily similar to his....just sparse hairs growing in the recipient area. So no, you're not alone. And no, it's not the fault of your "aftercare." It's squarely the responsibility of Dr. Apaydin...but I'm not surprised he shifts blame to his patients. HLC seems a great choice, and knowing they will split the surgery over 2 days is definitely reassuring. Taking things slow and easy appears to be the only way to get a proper result. Looking forward to your progress! Definitely keep in touch.

Hi Jambopilgrim, I'm sure by now you've had your 2nd HT with a more reputable doctor, so I hope everything's going well. I also - regrettably - had a HT with Dr. Ilker Apaydin. I'm over 6-months post-op now and boy do our results look similar.... Just like you, there is no density in the recipient area despite the large number of grafts extracted. If he had done the job correctly, you (and I) shouldn't really need a 2nd HT. But Dr. Apaydin botches hair transplants. That's just what he does. The extractions were rushed and done sloppily by nurses/techs. They were talking and giggling the entire procedure. They didn't even bother to space the extractions, literally ripping a bald spot in the back of my head. No joke. Day 1 Post-op Day 10 Post-op Day 20 Post-op Day 30 Post-op And so on and so on.... When I confronted the doctor, he tried to convince me it was "Perfectly normal!" His argument was basically "What's wrong with you? It looks fine! Who you going to believe, your 'lying eyes' or me a doctor?" Ummm....I'll believe my "lying eyes." I asked him how long would it take to fill in the bald spot that his clinic ripped into my donor zone. "Couple weeks!" It took 10 WEEKS....and that's with 4 PRPs to accelerate the growth. Without the PRPs, it might have taken half a year to cover the bald spot. Obviously if a clinic is this sloppy and unethical with something as straightforward as spacing extractions, you can imagine things only went downhill from there. Like you, there is no density in my recipient area. It's obvious just looking, but I wanted to be scientific about the matter. So I cut my hair short and counted the grafts per sqcm. As you can see, you can count about 25 grafts per sqcm. Since the recipient area is about 30sqcm total, this means 750 grafts survived. Problem is, they extracted 2,250 grafts which means only about 33% of the grafts survived. They might as well have extracted the other 1,500 grafts and just thrown them directly into the rubbish bin. Wasted. Gone. Forever. So my donor was needlessly ripped apart with no benefit to my recipient area in terms of density. But it gets worse. Dr. Apaydin's clinic didn't even bother to separate the singles/doubles/triples. Sooo.....they implanted doubles/triples all along my hairline for that notorious "pluggy" look. But it gets worse. Dr. Apaydin got the directions/angles of the hairs wrong so all along my frontal hairline the hairs grow straight up to the sky like bamboo shoots instead of growing forward like in a natural hairline. But it gets worse. The hairline design was unnatural with the temple lines bending forward instead of slightly backward. And on top of that his hand slipped drawing the frontal hairline so it droops down unnaturally on one side (I actually caught this mistake in the consultation but I hesitated to point it out b/c whenever I asked questions he became visibly annoyed). OP day hairline (hairline droops down from doctor's slipup) OP finished (hairline droops down from doctor's slipup) Hairline droops down on one side (I pluck these hairs out every few weeks otherwise I look like a freak) I noticed that you also got "mushroom head" swelling. Some level of swelling is normal, but it seems all of Dr. Apaydin's patients get this severe swelling...and I only had 2,250 grafts. I've seen patients of reputable doctors with 3,4 thousand grafts and they don't swell up this bad. On the day of surgery, I remember the nurses/techs kept jabbing me all over the head and they didn't seem to wait a few minutes to let the anesthesia take effect before jabbing more and more...I read one story by a guy on this forum who thought he might go into cardiac arrest from the anesthesia which caused his heart rate to spike above 100bpm. All in all, everything was rushed and sloppy. There is no dedication to the patient. The doctor promised to "supervise" the extractions, but he vanished after finishing the incisions in the morning. Apparently he left me in the clinic alone with the nurses/techs - which is illegal - who did the extractions/implantations in the afternoon. I think it would take a miracle to get a good result from Dr. Apaydin's clinic. He's in the wrong career. He's better at marketing than surgery.... For more details and photos of my HT click the link below.

Hi there, you're 3 years post-op, how were your results?? There really is a dearth of information on Dr. Apaydin's results and I'm hoping to fill in that gap. As you mention, lots of 5-star RealSelf reviews immediately post-op describing a great "experience," but almost no reviews months later describing great results. As a "victim" of his flashy marketing, I think I know why: his results aren't great (see the link below for my detailed review w/photos). That's why his clinic pressures patients to immediately write a good review: they're not confident in their results. I decided to wait 6 months to see my results - which are a disaster - before writing a review. That you asked this three years ago and not a single person has replied with successful results is kind of a big red flag. The silence is deafening...

Hi, I had a HT with Dr. Ilker Apaydin in June 2021. He does NOT do the "whole surgery." He only does the incisions. His website falsely claims he does the whole surgery, but when you call to book an appointment, he admits that his nurses/techs do most of the surgery (extractions/ implantations). But he smooth talks you into booking anyway b/c he tells you that the extractions are the "easy" part of the surgery. That is NOT true. Extractions determine how well the donor zone will look (clean or patchy?), the density in your recipient zone (b/c if the grafts are not properly extracted, they won't survive), and the naturalness of your hairline (b/c grafts must be separated into singles/doubles/triples to ensure only singles are used along the edge of the hairline). In my case, Dr. Apaydin's clinic butchered everything (you can see my review w/photos in the link below). They ripped a bald spot in my donor zone. Only around 30% of grafts survived b/c they damaged most grafts in the extraction phase. They even implanted doubles/triples along the edge of my hairline for that notorious "pluggy" look. Lastly, the directions/angles of my transplanted hair do not flow with the pre-existing natural hair. As for RealSelf reviews, Dr. Apaydin's clinic pesters you to write a good review immediately after surgery - before you see any results. I decided to wait 6-months to check my results before writing any review. And I'm glad I waited b/c the results are disastrous. Now I know why they want your good review immediately.... If you scroll through the RealSelf reviews, you will see that almost all reviews are immediately post-op: "The clinic is modern." "I felt safe." "Dr. Apaydin seems competent." "The coordinator answers all my questions." "The lunch was delicious." "They put me up in a beautiful hotel!" These types of comments. In short, the clinic distorts the meaning of the reviews by having patients write good reviews of the "experience" immediately post-op. This deceives a lot of people even though people read reviews b/c they want to know whether the doctor is "skilled" or not at giving patients good results. I was one of those deceived. That's why I'm trying to warn other guys about this doctor's flashy marketing. He's not skilled. He's not dedicated to his patients. Unless by accident, you won't get a good outcome. Don't rely on luck. Do your research. I didn't do enough research before booking my HT, but I should have...

Hi there, your post is over a year old, but I'd like to reply for the benefit of future patients. I had a HT with Dr. Ilker Apaydin in June 2021 and it was a disaster. See the link below for a detailed review w/photos. Dr. Apaydin does NOT do the "whole surgery." His website falsely claims he does. But when you call him, he admits that the nurses/techs do most of the surgery (extractions/ implantations). But once he's hooked you in, that is, he has you on the phone, he tries to convince you that the extractions/implantations are the "easy" part of the surgery (his words). I was naïve and believed him... But it turns out extractions need to be done very carefully for three reasons: 1. To not destroy the donor zone (the nurses/techs created a bald spot in my donor zone b/c they did NOT space the extractions). 2. To ensure the grafts are extracted properly and intact (the nurses/techs damaged 70% of the grafts they extracted. That's right, only around 30% survived so the density in my recipient area is extremely sparse). 3. To ensure the grafts are separated into singles/doubles/triples (b/c only singles should be placed along the edge of the hairline. Dr. Apaydin even told me that he would "supervise" the extractions. But after he finished the incisions in the morning, I never saw or heard from him again. Turns out he doesn't even stay in the clinic! He just leaves you with the nurses/techs in the afternoon. Dr. Apaydin does incisions for 2 patients in a single morning, each for at least 3,000 dollars. So he's made at least 6,000 dollars in one morning's work. That's a lot more than you think. Since the cost of living in Turkey is 1/3 of the US, that's really about 20,000 dollars in purchasing power. Yep, he makes 100,000 dollars per week, AND he has afternoons off. Now you can see why he's obsessed with flashy marketing trying to sell himself as a reputable doctor when he's anything but. I have since scoured the Internet trying to find a single positive review of his RESULTS and have found about one. His results are overwhelmingly disastrous. If you go on RealSelf, he has a lot of good reviews - but they're almost all immediately post-op. That is, reviews of the "experience" NOT the results. "The clinic is chic." "The hotel is nice." "The coordinator is super friendly." "Dr. Apaydin seems competent." That kind of thing. But interestingly there's no follow-up review of the RESULTS... In fact, Dr. Apaydin's clinic pesters patients (including me) to write a good RealSelf review immediately after the operation. Strange that they want a good review BEFORE the results are in...probably b/c they're not confident in their results. I decided to wait 6 months to see the results, and I'm glad I did (b/c the results are a disaster). The coordinator, a very lovely person by the way, actually admitted to me that the clinic is always looking for new ways to market the doctor. Odd, because if a doctor is skilled and has a good reputation, he/she doesn't really need to "market" himself aggressively, particularly if the surgeon, like Dr. Apaydin, has been doing hair transplants for over a decade! Word of mouth should normally be more than enough to ensure a steady stream of patients. And beware of "for-profit" review sites like RealSelf and Google. This website, hairrestorationnetwork, is trustworthy b/c it's by and for hair loss sufferers. The sole goal is not to make a buck. To RealSelf's credit, they posted my negative review of Dr. Apaydin, but their default "Featured" ordering of reviews, curated by RealSelf, only includes positive reviews (they make their money from doctors so there's a bias for doctors/against patients). So if you just go to their website and search a doctor, you will only be shown positive reviews at the top. You would think they would "feature" reviews that get the most "Helpful" clicks, yes? Like mine. But no...only positive reviews are included. Of course you can see negative reviews if you re-order the reviews by "Recent" or "Lowest rating" but do most people bother? As for Google, I have written a negative review of Dr. Apaydin with lots of photos documenting my experience but they won't post it. Dr. Apaydin apparently has a Google Business Account, and I think Google doesn't want to offend its business owners. I followed all of Google's "policies" for writing reviews. I even edited my review down from seven paragraphs to three so there would be less "content" to get snared by censors. Nope. They won't post it. But they do have a 5-star review up by an "empty" account with no text description or photos. That they leave up.... A week ago I did see a negative Google review of Dr. Apaydin in German?! One star. I can't read German but I C&P'd it into Google translate and the review was one sentence, something like "Had a hair transplant here a year ago and 70% of the transplanted hairs are gone." The review was taken down a day or two later. Only the 5-star review by an empty account is left standing... Google Dr. Ilker Apaydin and see for yourself. You might think there are no negative reviews of this doctor? You would be wrong. Google just won't post them. I have heard a rumor that until a business account gets a critical mass of positive reviews, only then will Google allow negative reviews. So he would have to get, say, 10 positive reviews and then Google will start posting negative ones. They don't want the negative reviews to drown out the positive reviews for their precious business owners. It can all make you cynical. Who do you trust?? Doctor websites are not particularly useful b/c even a bad doctor is going to hit a "homerun" every once in a while. Then it's just a matter of gathering all their "homeruns" into their before/after gallery. The point, however, is consistency. What doctors consistently give good results? That takes research. Unfortunately, I didn't do enough research before booking my HT and got scammed. I would only trust real guys who can document real results with photos - good or bad. This website is fabulous b/c there are no conflicts of interest (like at Google or RealSelf). Anyway, good luck everyone! Hair transplants - to be done well - require extraordinary skill, artistry, and dedication by the doctor. The reality is that most doctors don't have any or all of these qualities, and many will compensate with flashy marketing. Don't be fooled....

You lucked out choosing Bicer over Apaydin! Apaydin markets himself well so he SEEMS competent. But he is anything but. He goes on about being a "plastic surgeon" as if that has anything to do with hair transplants. He WAS a plastic surgeon over 10 years ago, but now he focuses on doing sloppy hair transplants to make better money. Why does he require you to pay in cash? So you can't demand a refund if he botches your hair transplant (which he will). He also makes you pay in EUROS (he won't accept Turkish Lira b/c the currency is unstable). He's quite a stickler on the money. But doing a careful professional job with your hair transplant? Not so much... When I called him, I must say he was a smooth talker. He seemed genuine. That's why I booked. His website says HE does the surgery (his website goes on and on about how you should avoid clinics in Turkey where the nurses/techs are involved in the surgery), but when you call him he tells you that... "Actually......the nurses/techs do most of the surgery." But he immediately reassured me that extractions/implantations are the "easy" part, and that he would supervise them anyway. Both are lies. If extractions are easy then why did his nurses/techs botch them? And he didn't supervise the extractions at all. I never saw or heard from him again after he did the incisions in the morning. The only important part of the surgery, he said, were the "incisions" and he would do them (he did them, but messed up the hair angles/directions). When you've already booked and flown to Turkey and you meet Dr. Apaydin in person, the charm is gone. You're now a "captive audience" and he doesn't feel the need to smooth-talk you anymore. He draws lines on your head, and if you ask any questions he becomes VISIBLY annoyed. He doesn't want to "waste" more than 3 minutes on your consultation. At one point he said "I'm the doctor. You should just leave this to the doctor." Leave the surgery to the doctor? Absolutely. But the hairline design? Well, that's the whole POINT of the consultation. To reach an agreement taking into consideration the patient's expectations and desires, and the doctor's expertise. Dr. Apaydin is a first-rate fraud in my opinion, but a third-rate HT surgeon.

"At first I was leaning toward Get Hair with either Dr Tayfun or Apaydin but reading some reviews I am now less inclined." "They work through a company with all glossy reviews but upon delving deeper into it I now have my reservations." This thread is a year old, but I would urge guys to avoid Dr. Ilker Apaydin. I had a HT with him in June 2021 and he absolutely butchered it. His website falsely leads you to believe that he does the entire surgery himself, but when you call to book, he tells you that "Actually nurses/techs do the extractions/implantations." But then he smooth talks you by reassuring you that extractions/implantations are the "easy" part. Only the incisions are "important" and he will do them. Well, turns out extractions are really important too. Only 750 grafts of 2,250 extracted survived b/c the nurses/techs didn't extract/preserve them properly. That's right. 1,500 grafts were damaged and wasted. Lost forever. Density is obviously poor b/c only 1/3 of the grafts successfully grew in the recipient area. Also, the nurses didn't space the extractions, creating a big bald spot in the back of my head. Unbelievable? I have photos to prove it. On top of that, the nurses/techs didn't bother to separate the grafts into singles/doubles/triples. So they implanted doubles/triples all along the edge of my hairline for that notorious "pluggy" look. His website is flashy. The clinic chic. His coordinator is great. But the quality of his work is worse than the "hair mills." I think he puts all his effort into marketing precisely b/c the quality of his work is so poor. I don't hesitate to call the doctor a "fraud." He purports to be an "internationally recognized" hair transplant surgeon, but what does he base this on? RealSelf reviews that his clinic manipulates! lol I'm not saying his staff write fake reviews, but they pressure you to write a good review immediately post-op before any results are in. Since most guys are still very hopeful at this stage, and feeling grateful and excited that they finally went through with surgery, some are generous enough to write a review describing a great "experience" (like I said the clinic is chic, the coordinator is great, and they put you up in a snazzy hotel). But the experience is NOT the results. If you scroll through all of his reviews, they are almost all immediately post-op. I thought it was strange that they ask for reviews BEFORE the results come in so I waited 6 months. I'm glad I did. The results are a disaster. Can I post a link to my RealSelf review so I don't have to re-upload all the photos and C&P the text? I'll try here: Dr. Ilker Apaydin BOTCHED my HT: Don't Be Fooled by his Flashy... (realself.com)